We've all been there and have probably gotten frustrated. The type of fishing i enjoy is singling out fish and hooking up with them. Eventually though theres that one fish that you cannot get.

Short of giving up and moving on, whats your technique?

Day 1.) After about 40 minutes of 3 different flies it finally went right for the small egg pattern i threw on and i screwed up the hook set. After that, a few more flies and he'd give a slight look and then shake his head like he was hooked and dart away.

Day 2.) Same fish, again after a few different fly offerings and presentations for an hour he was very interested and looked at each one with almost full interest before turning away. Finally after tieing on a tandem 3 micro zebra midge setup he sucked one in and again, the water being cold, the fish being sluggish and my whole body being cold and numb from the water i screwed up the hookset again!

Day 3.) Same fish, super spooked and cautious, whether from other fisherman or not i dont know. But i got one look out of probably 40 pass bys of different flies again, when flies came near him he instantly darted away.

Only thing i can think of is fish for him at a time other then the normal. Super early morning or super late at night. Whats your guys experience? Ive tried flashy, non flashy, super small 24 als rat, which is usually my last resort which end up convincing most cautious fish. But ive never had this circumstance where a fish would get spooked just from small size 22/24 flies being drifted by him.

I have luck with yellow dubbed nymphs for them. Or something pink. They are attracted to spawning colors.

Also try something crazy, that you think no one else has used. I find this at fly project waters when the old BHPT, GRHE arent working. PUt on something that no one else has put in front of the fish.

Also dont just sit there and badger him. You said you drifted past him 40 times or so. Give him a break and try to sneak in on him again from down stream. Get low and try to land the perfect cast right off of the bat.

Did you try a dry dropper with your midge. I found this could be the ticket if he is not hugging the bottom. The natural presentation of the dry dropper can help so he wont see the all of the flash on the zebra midges. lower you tippet wt and go small. He might be up to your tricks by now as well so you will have to be perfect in your casting and approach.

One last thing that I had done on a hog of a golden happened when i drifted my entire box of nymphs by him. I know it sounds crazy but i put on a size 6 conehead bugger and dead drifted it. Once i saw his head turn to look at it i gave it a very light twitch. And he grabbed it.

This fish is really spooked right now and the ball is in his court. give him time and wait for the right conditions, and you will get him.

Posted on: 2013/4/5 11:36

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"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process."

Years ago, before I owned a fly rod. It was Good Friday, sometime following Opening Day. It was alternating between misting and raining and it was cold. A brutish golden rainbow had survived the initial onslaught and was holding in the tail of a pool, under a scraggly tree. I myself was "hidden" on the opposite bank, behind another scraggly tree. I formed a nugget of green Powerbait around my hook. I made the perfect cast 20 yards across the stream. Goldie took one look and grabbed the green nugget. I set the hook and my hook grabbed him. One quick head shake later and he was off. I never felt so stupid for not checking my hook knot or line for abrasion as I did that cold morning. I've also never seen a monster react to a paste bait that rapidly.

Nowadays, for the Lightnin' Trout who has seen it all, I'd generically recommend flies. Since you're already doing that, I'd second a bugger or some sort of crippled minnow pattern.

Mike, is your relation to spawning colors for palominos based on experience? Quincidence? Fact? I dont see why one breed of trout would prefer any color over another, they all have a pea sized brain and whether natural or stocked or some weird crossbreed id thinkone wouldnt have a preference over another.

Salmonoid, when i saw powerbait my jaw dropped lol. With the 100 guys throwing powerbait at him and spinners and worms id think that would be the last thing it would be interested in.

Blueheron, Its a big bow.

Like i said, in my experience when a fish is cautious and stressed, going super small and offering him what you have compared to forcing him is what makes the difference.

some reason i agree with mikes perspective, ive found any egg patern or yellow will light them up when others dont, the big killer is the roe egg with an egg colored bloodline.i think becuase they see those colors all their life in the hatchery they tend to eat them

You asked how others approach things when there's a fish there that just won't take .......

I rest the fish and continue to pound away. Call me thick headed but I know I wasted the majority of the day on a fish when I should have simply moved on. There's only 2 endings..... you win and hook him or he wins and runs off.

san juan in casual dress? is that wearing a t-shirt and jeans?

I'd try a fly that acutally represents something living in the stream that the fish might feed on.

I know it sounds weird but any animals main instinct is to reproduce. They are set up to be able to respond to their spawning colors. People tie Brookies fin flies. This is also based on personal experience. I tied a yellow nymph for testing my hypothesis. Sure enough my buddy and I were fishing a stream and cam upon a golden. We tried everything and I remembered the yellow nymph. 1st drift boom! Got him.

Back in my bait fishing days I would use cheese eggs for golden rainbow and pink for rainbows I was targeting. Also the ultimate "bait" for rainbows and golden's are a salmon egg with a waxworm. Tie an egg with some white dangling behind it.

Give me the GPS coridinants ;)

Posted on: 2013/4/6 22:03

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"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process."

Mute................ to #3 you might add , "oh no , here he comes again , be careful what you eat". Did any of you folks just move on to the next riser and leave ONE for seed? Before you move try an ant.................right on live2nymph................Mario.......what is a lightening trrout?